Norman Solomon: In Honor of My Mother and the Power of Love

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/30361

In Honor of My Mother and the Power of Love
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2008-01-23 15:34. Media

By Norman Solomon


The last time my mother was in a hospital, an essay by Thich Nhat Hanh
moved in front of my eyes. "Our mother is the teacher who first teaches us
love, the most important subject in life," he wrote. "Without my mother I
could never have known how to love. Thanks to her I can love my neighbors.
Thanks to her I can love all living beings. Through her I acquired my first
notions of understanding and compassion."

My mother, Miriam A. Solomon, died on January 20, which happened to be
the seventh anniversary of the inauguration of a man and a presidential
regime that she loathed. Once, several years ago, when I referred to George
W. Bush as "an idiot," she made a correction by pointing out he's much worse
than that; she used the adjective "evil."

At my parents' apartment, taped on the front door for a long time, a
little poster said: "The America I Believe In Doesn't Torture People." The
poster was from Amnesty International USA -- an organization that my mom
wrote many protest letters to dictators for
-- and it summed up her devotion to human decency rather than counterfeit
versions of American democracy.

On Monday, the day after my mom died, the Washington Post that arrived
on the apartment doorstep carried a lead editorial under the headline
"Martin Luther King Jr.: His Words Are More Relevant Than Ever This Election
Year." But the editorial did not include the word "war" -- even while it
grandly commented on "the vision of Dr. King" and, of course, quoted from
his "I Have a Dream" speech.

My mother was among the hundreds of thousands of civil-rights
supporters who gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial and heard King's
speech that day in 1963. But unlike the Post's editorial writers she did not
suffer from arrested development in subsequent decades.

snip//

Our own mourning should help us understand and strive to prevent the
unspeakable pain of others. And whatever love we have for one person, we
should try to apply to the world. I won't ever be able to talk with my
mother again, but I'm sure that she would agree.

After my mother died, I learned about a poem that she wrote long ago
-- apparently soon after her father passed away. The poem is titled
"Bereavement." Here is how it ends:

More than cherished memories are left
Behind; they leave us -- us
To know our duties and our powers
And to carry on without much fuss.

In the crushing grief of the moment, we think of how
vital and good our
loved ones were,
and vow to be worthy of them.

[stillcool]

1. She obviously taught him well.

he's such a gifted writer.

Norman Solomon page
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Norman_Solomon/Norman_Solomon_page.html

[babylonsister]

2. I agree; he's a great, thoughtful writer. nt

[peacetalksforall]

3. If you're not watching football - stop and read - it's a winning tribute.

Thanks for posting.